ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.5 Hour Battery Life Top Quality

While this isn't the fastest, smallest, or lightest laptop, with any killer features not found on any other laptop or netbook, it gets the job done consistently well.

--The screen is ridiculously bright, to the point where turning up the brightness all the way is almost too bright in most situations.

--The keyboard and touchpad are bit cramped, but nothing that a typical laptop user can't get used to. One issue with the keyboard is the tight configuration of the F- keys, which also double as special function keys, which makes it hard to find the volume and brightness buttons when using it in a dark room. Additionally, the small touchpad uses multi-touch (like the MacBook), but is sometimes finicky, especially with triple-finger gestures.

--Speed-wise, this thing boots very quick, and runs XP just fine. Multimedia applications seem to work fine, as long as whatever you are doing is not too demanding; I've watched a few 720p clips, which it seems to handle adequately -- I doubt it would hand 1080p well, though. Graphics (specifically 3D) are just adequate for this machine; the onboard Intel graphics can just barely handle Google Earth and Compiz (with Ubuntu 9.04), but it handles everyday tasks just fine. Processing speed is also adequate; some very processor intensive sites (such as Facebook, Youtube) are a little slow when multiple tabs are open in Firefox, compared to full-powered desktops, but this is expected on a netbook.

--Battery life is exceptional; I am not sure if it meets the advertised 9.5 hours of battery life, but I have observed at least 6-7 hours of fairly rigorous use (bright backlight, WLAN and Bluetooth on, several tabs open in Firefox), and still had ~15-20% of battery life left before being done with it.

--Webcam is a nice touch, but I haven't had a chance to use it much. It is certainly adequate, but performance is more or less average.

Gripes:
--The included StarOffice software is not nearly as user-friendly as Microsoft Office, and is far less up-to-date than the comparable (and free!) Open Office, which is a far better option. Also, the integrated are tinny and underpowered, as usual, but for whatever reason, the volume output from the headphone jack is just barely adequate for medium-volume listening. With higher impedance headphones, it is almost impossible to turn up the volume to a sufficient level when watching a movie on an airplane. Finally, keep in mind that this netbook has NO optical drive. This is kind of a given, but it can cause a few headaches when trying to install various software. Drive cloning utilities, such as Daemon tools or Alcohol 120% are helpful in these situations. Get more detail about ASUS Eee PC 1000HE 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 9.5 Hour Battery Life.